


My Heart Has Room for One More

by yaustalla333



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-01-18 12:42:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12388299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaustalla333/pseuds/yaustalla333
Summary: When a pod crashes in a field in the middle of Cambodia, Supergirl is the first person on the scene. When instead of an ex-con alien threatening humanity she finds a seven year old alien from her galaxy, it's not hard to convince her Forbes 500 CEO girlfriend...scratch that...fiancee to take the little girl home with them. This is/will be a collection of stories of many varieties about how they make it work, and snapshots of the new family's life together.





	1. Oh

“Oh.” Was all Lena managed to say at first.  
“Oh?” Kara asked, when she realized her fiancee wasn’t going to continue. “What’s oh?” Lena brought her eyes away from the subject at hand and looked back at Kara for the first time.  
“This wasn’t what I was expecting when you said you had something to show me.”  
The two were stood at one of the observation windows of the DEO, by the testing rooms. Kara in her Supergirl suit, and Lena in the black slip that made Kara forget all the languages she knew for a second, as their usual date night had been paused for Supergirl duties. They look through the window at a small girl, could be about six or seven but Lena would admit she doesn’t know the first thing about guessing a child’s age. Alex had called Kara about another pod that turned up in a field somewhere in Cambodia, and when Kara had rushed over to assess the threat level of this alien, she found this whimpering little girl. Alex has concluded that she’s from a planet Corillynx, in the same galaxy as Krypton, but has determined little else.  
“She looks frightened.” Lena says softly, almost coos, as she looks in at the scene in front of her in the DEO med bay.  
“Terrified beyond belief, if I remember correctly.” Kara unconsciously leans closer to the brunette, looking down and biting her lower lip. Her memories from the night her pod crashed earn her an arm around the waist and a kiss to the temple. Kara thinks carefully trying to find the words to expand their curious situation, but for brief moments all that comes to her head is the look on this little girl’s face as she and a team of DEO agents ran towards her in between the tall grass where her pod crashed. Her mind can’t stop comparing it to how confused and scared she was the night Clark found her and brought her to the Danvers. God, she doesn’t know what she would have done if she didn’t have the Danvers.  
“Naturally, I assume she’s coming home with us.” Lena speaks up, seeing the gears turning in her fiancee’s pained expression. Kara looks back at her in a bit of disbelief.  
“What? I mean, yes. That’s what I want, but we have to talk about it?” Kara hurries, confused, and Lena almost smiles through the gravity of this situation because how has she survived through everything her wicked life has thrown at her to come out on the other end deserving the love of someone so thoughtful and kind?  
“Kara darling, I know what this means to you.” Lena starts carefully. “I want to help.”  
“Rao Lena, are you sure? I-”  
“I love you.” Lena smiles, “And besides, Alex and Maggie don’t have a spare bedroom, it just works.” Lena smiles confidently.  
“It does seem right, doesn’t it?” Kara asks giddily, a contagious glow in her eyes. “And I love you too Lena. So much.” Her expression turns more serious as she turns again to make eye contact with her fiancee. “Thank you.”  
Lena doesn’t quite find the words to express to Kara that thanks is not necessary, that just looking at the little dirty blonde girl with green eyes and tiny arms sitting so rigidly on the cot in the DEO meday is enough for her heart to have room for one more, before Alex comes out the door with a serious look on her face. The pair rushes over to her, Lena wondering how she already feels such a connection to a little alien girl who hasn’t even met her yet. Kara grabs one of her fiancee’s hands and squeezes tightly, not tight enough to really hurt, but Lena understands.  
“She’s okay.” Alex breathes out, and a cloud of relief washes over all of them and Kara releases some of the pressure on Lena’s hand. Not a single mind in the DEO hadn’t been thinking back to Kara’s emotional arrival on Earth, and rooting for the little girl. “She’s still in a bit of shock,” Alex continues, “but she’s okay.” Kara pulls her in for a tight hug, without letting go of Lena’s hand.  
“How soon can we take her home?” Lena breaks the silence first, after a minute or so. Alex looks back and forth from Lena to Kara in awe before laughing.  
“Soon enough.” She says with a smile. “Maybe you can get more information out of her than I did.” She shrugs, leading Kara and Lena into the medbay. Lena isn’t sure why she’s suddenly nervous, but Kara’s tightening her grip on her hand and she knows she’s not alone. And if she swears to Rao at how the way this girl’s eyes look up at her is enough to make her quit her job and take up arms against anyone who ever hurts her, Kara doesn’t mention it.  
“Hi.” She almost whispers. “I’m Lena, and this is Kara.” She tries her warmest smile, and it must work because although the girl still looks frightened she suddenly grabs onto the hand that Lena has held out to her and holds on tighter than Kara. “Can you tell me your name?” Lena asks, hopefully. The girl releases her right arm from Lena and holds out her wrist, where a careful marking reads something that looks like Russian with some symbols Lena doesn’t understand. She looks up at Kara.  
“Most children on Corrilynx are born into servitude.” She explains sadly. “They live communally for a few years with some caretakers, and are eventually split up to serve in either the military or the labor sectors. They’re marked with identification numbers so their supervisors can keep track of them.” She reaches towards the little girl who looks up at Lena before allowing Kara to take her hand. “My mother made me study when I was young, but I don’t remember much.” She squints, crinkle coming out in between her brows as she studies the script. “Something with an E, and an L, a 7, a 4 or a 5, maybe that’s a T, and an H?” She looks up at Lena who has just about the saddest expression on her face.  
“Elizabeth.” Lena decides. “How about we call you Elizabeth. Ella for short.” She forces a smile on her face as she looks down at the girl.  
“Okay.” A small voice whispers. Now it’s Alex and Kara’s turn to look shocked. Ella laughs at the expressions on Kara and Alex’s faces and the sound has everyone breaking out in Sunshine-Kara-Danvers level smiles.  
Alex goes into more detail with the group about Ella’s lab results. She seems to be similarly composed to Kara, and Alex expects they’ll share similar powers because they shared the same red sun. They detail a regiment of power inhibiting supplements that won’t have long term health effects on the little girl, even if she takes them for a long time. Lena is very insistent that the girl is comfortable and involved in her decision to use her powers, and only after she learns how to control them in a safe environment supervised by Alex and Kara. Ella is quiet through most of the conversation, still holding onto Lena’s arm and leaning into her side while they sit on the bed in the medbay. After a conversation that seems to last an eternity, Lena and Kara are ready to take Ella home. Lena looks down and realizes the warm body attached to her side has fallen asleep, and allows Kara to pick her up gently, although even the slight motion wakes the girl up in a panic.  
“Where are we going?” She asks looking around confused, holding out a hand to Lena. “Please.” She calls out desperately and Lena holds her hand while Kara whispers comfortingly into her head, one hand still holding the girl up and the other moving up and down on her back.  
“You’re coming home with us.” Lena murmurs quietly, “Is that okay?” She asks, giving the girl’s hand a squeeze, and sharing a bright smile with her fiancee as a little head nods before falling back down to Kara’s shoulder. Alex says her goodbyes and promises to be by with Maggie after everything settles down a little.  
Deciding to not exaggerate the seven year old’s anxiety, Kara and Lena opt to have Lena’s car service pick them up rather than fly home. It’s enough that Supergirl could get sighted carting Lena Luthor around National City, let alone Lena Luthor and a mystery little girl.  
Ella continues to sleep through the whole ride back to their apartment, and lets Kara carry her up even though she wakes up before the car stops.  
“Obviously we’ll get you some new stuff,” Kara explains rambling as Ella’s tour of their home reaches her new room, formerly a guest room for Eliza’s overnight stays in National City. She and Lena share an amused look as Ella looks around the room in wonder.  
“Mine?” She asks, looking between Kara and Lena, flashing her most excited grin yet.  
“Yes, my sweet.” Lena laughs, taking the girl from Kara’s arms and setting her down on the bed. “How does it feel? Soft enough?” Sharing the girl’s contagious giggle as she bounces up and down on the mattress.  
“Are you hungry, El?” Kara asks, as the group laughs at a loud growl that comes from Kara’s stomach. The girl nods a little, and Kara leaves a scene of the most beautiful Lena she’s seen thus far--which is saying a lot-- cuddling with this new seven year old ...daughter? Rao, Kara can barely bring herself to think the word yet. She’s hopeful, though. She figures, with one last look at Lena and Ella in the spare room, that it’s been long enough since Supergirl’s last quick trip to the pizza place around the corner-- although then she had been hurrying home for different reasons. She changes quickly, and almost trips out the door in her haste to get back home to her new family.


	2. Learn To Do It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Chapter updates definitely will not be this regular usually but I have two exams on Thursday so naturally I've been pretty focused on this work the past couple days. You can thank the broadway adaptation of the musical Anastasia for inspiring some of the dialogue of this chapter. Also, if you have any ideas or things that you'd like to see in this fic pls pls pls suggest them to me in my inbox on tumblr: amy-tap.tumblr.com, and thank u all for the feedback in the comments thus far.

After a week or so, Kara and Lena start going back to work. They’ve coordinated a schedule with Alex and Maggie, and sometimes James and Winn, so that there’s always someone available to watch Ella at all times of the day. Today had been a little hectic, with Kara dropping Ella off with Maggie and Alex in the morning, and Maggie bringing her to Catco before lunch and dropping her off with Kara before going out to do some casework. Ella had almost begged Maggie to take her to the station, but listened fleetingly as Maggie drew out a list of reasons why Lena might have an aneurism if she found out Maggie had taken her along on even a little petty theft case. Ella sat quietly in Catco, a little overwhelmed by the hectic environment the day before a big issue came out. At lunchtime, they pick up some cheeseburgers from what they’ve discovered is Ella’s favorite place and take them to L-Corp. Kara is already on Snapper’s list because a. she always is and b. “everyday is not bring your daughter to work day” so she’s pretty much in and out with a kiss to Lena and a quick hug to Ella. 

Ella is most comfortable with Lena, a fact which Kara accepts with only occasional twangs of jealousy. As Kara leaves, Lena sets the little girl up on the couch with her plain hamburger with absolutely nothing on it but a bun, which next to ice cream is her absolute favorite meal, despite Lena’s outcry about kale and Kara’s wailing about toppings. 

“How was your morning darling?” Lena asks, sitting next to her on the couch with her own veggie burger, noticing Ella is in an even quieter mood than usual. 

“Good. Maggie taught me how to fight.” The girl says, finally giving Lena an adorable smile, which Lena can’t help but return until her words sink in. 

“She what?” Lena prompts, almost choking on a piece of tomato. She has to let out another smile though, when Ella laughs at her distress. 

“M’just kidding. Maggie said you’d ‘freak’ if I said that and then I asked her what ‘freak’ means and she said if I told you I’d get to find out!” She finishes between giggles as Lena exaggerates her shocked expression. 

“Little punk! I’m gonna have a talk with that Maggie.” Lena promises with a nudge to the girl’s shoulder. “Full already?” She asks, when Ella sets down her hamburger after only a few bites. The girl nods. 

“Me and Kara had first lunch before.” She explains, leaning back on the couch and patting her stomach while her eyes flutter shut, looking exactly like Kara. 

“Oh really?” Lena preens, shifting so that a small girl next to her can lean against her shoulder. “And what did you have for first lunch?” She asks, already knowing the answer she’ll receive. 

“I’m not allowed to say.” Ella looks away quickly. 

“Not ALLOWED to SAY?” Lena asks, incredulously. “Who’s side are you on here?” She asks, starting to tickle the young girl until she’s practically in her lap and squealing, but as she covers her ears Lena knows she’s overstimulated and immediately stops. “We’re gonna have to get you some stronger suppressants” Lena breathes, smiling fondly at Ella’s quizzical expression. “So you can laugh as much as you want my darling” she punctuates with a kiss on the head. 

“On my planet children were supposed to be quiet.” Ella says quietly after a minute of silence. Lena shifts to meet her eye. This is one of the first times she’s ever spoken of her home planet. She pulls her arms a little tighter around Ella’s tiny torso, knowing that there isn’t a lot she can say to make anything feel right for this girl. She moves one hand to gently pull her fingers through dirty blonde hair, feeling the girl’s head droop into her collarbone. Thinking she must be exhausted from going from person to person all morning, Lena drops one more gentle kiss to her forehead. 

“Sleep a bit, my sweet. Alex is coming over for dinner, you’ll need your rest.” She whispers into her hair, breathing in the scent of this precious being once before letting her succumb to sleep, gently laying her flat on the couch and walking over to her desk to get some work done. 

Lena texts Kara sometime in the midafternoon that she and Ella are leaving L-Corp for the day and heading to get a “pre-dinner” because Kara’s ridiculous eating habits have rubbed off on the little alien and Lena is an absolute softie. She doesn’t mention that she can feel the little bubble of anxiety filling Ella’s body about having another lesson with Alex and Kara at dinner, because Kara is trying so hard to get the girl accustomed to Earth. 

The lessons started officially after Ella’s first dinner at the Luthor-Danvers apartment, and had been pretty scheduled as every other day after that. Thus far, they had been a frustrating event for almost everybody involved. Kara and Alex would move the coffee table out of the center of the living room and push the couches back as they taught Ella about the culture of Earth, and answered a few of her million questions about the fate of the planet she left behind and about her new home. They talked and tried (often ineffectively) to explain things like school and work and, well capitalism, to a seven year old girl while her power suppressants wore off. Then they tried to help her through the exhausting and sometimes painful transition to existing with heightened senses and extreme power. Originally, Alex had wanted Lena and Kara to bring Ella to the DEO regularly to do these tests, but Lena put her foot down and reminded her fiancee how scared Ella had been in the DEO, and that if she was going to be put through these lessons that it should be in a place where she’s at least a bit more comfortable. Alex had to haul over some equipment, because they weren’t absolutely certain what the magnification of Ella’s powers was exactly. Her and Kara were from the same galaxy, but that didn’t necessarily mean their powers were equal. So far they had discovered that Ella’s sense of hearing may be a little more heightened than even Kara’s, but nobody was sure if this trend continued across all of Ella’s powers. They didn’t even know if she had ice breath yet, although two days ago they had discovered laser vision, leaving them with a burnt rug and an incredibly frightened seven year old who Alex had promised to fit for lead glasses. 

Ella stayed close to Lena’s side with her ice cream cone, completely silent on their walk to their apartment. Once they got inside, Lena placed her bag down on the coffee table and let out a short lived contented sigh as she slipped off her heels and left them on the ground. She frowned a little as she saw Ella standing in the middle of the entryway, her coat still on, still looking uncomfortable in the apartment. Lena walked over and helped her shrug off her blue windbreaker as she finished the last of her ice cream. She got a little smile after telling Ella to go wash her face before Kara came home and knew what a big softie was for letting the girl have ice cream before dinner. She walked over to the fridge and stared for a while, thinking about what to take out for dinner when Kara came through the door. She slid her bag off her shoulder and left it with her glasses on the kitchen island before striding to Lena and offering her a kiss that would certainly have become a little more than a kiss if a certain seven year old hadn’t come out from the bathroom mostly cleaned up but with signs of triple chocolate brownie ice cream still visible from where it was dribbling down her chin...and onto her shirt. 

“Ew! Gross!” She said, giggling as Kara chased her around the living room for her comments. 

“Is that ICE CREAM?” She asked when she finally caught up to the girl, who had lasted an impressively long time against Supergirl for someone her size. 

Lena smiled and listened to the sounds of her two girls talking about their days and Kara turning on the TV to watch the baseball game. It felt like family, but Lena was a little afraid to say that out loud. Not long after, Alex arrived, and the four of them sat down to dinner. 

“I like smir fry” Ella decided after her first few bites. 

“Stir fry, darling” Lena corrected, earning an eye roll from the girl as she moved to wipe some sauce off her chin. 

The rest of dinner consisted of Lena, Alex, and Kara, talking about their days, and Ella listening intently as the three teased each other, but avoided eye contact with Alex whenever she talked about alien work or the DEO. She dutifully helped Lena clear the plates after dinner, and stayed glued to her side as Alex and Kara set about moving the coffee table. 

“Be brave, El” Lena whispered, crouching down and pressing a kiss into the girl’s ear. She nodded, and walked over to Kara and Alex, while Lena assumed her position on the other end of the two sectioned couch with her tablet, responding to emails while keeping a watchful eye. 

xXx  
“And we’re gonna get you a birth certificate.” Kara says excitedly, to an already wearing thin Ella, half an hour into their lesson about going to school and behaving in school.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a piece of paper that has your name and birthday on it for the government so they know who you are.” Kara says carefully. “Everybody has one.” She adds. 

“My real name?” Ella asks with a little hope. Alex sighs. 

“Elizabeth is your real name.” 

“No it’s not.” The girl starts to pout a little. Lena looks up from her tablet. 

“Yes” Alex grits, “it is.” She stomps a foot on the ground from where her legs were crossed to seem stern. The noise hits hard on Ella’s ears. 

“I want to take a break.” The girl says hotly. 

“Ella, babygirl, we have a lot to do” Kara sighs, trying to reason with the girl, although seven year old's patients wear thin easily, and it doesn't come out quite the way Kara intends it. 

“Kara” Lena warns carefully, but too late. 

Ella stands up from her spot on the rug, Lena sees the mix of intrigue and horror on Alex’s face when she realizes that Ella is literally vibrating as she struggles to find the words, her little Crollian accent coming out in her anger. 

“I’ve had it. And I hate you both. I’m sorry that we ever met. I’m tired, and I’m frightened, and I’m only seven don’t forget. I don’t remember anything! Get out and let me be!” She runs frantically to Lena and tries to hide herself in her lap. 

“Ella, darling, look at me.” Lena coos softly, bringing her lips down to the girl’s head. “We’re all frightened now and then. Take a breath, count to ten. You have courage, and strength you barely know. So blow that little nose, and dry those little eyes.” Lena laughs a little, trying to get the tears out of the girls eyes. The child just burrows herself further into Lena’s lap. Lena sighs, and puts her tablet down gently, lifting Ella up easily and carrying her to her room, giving her fiancee and future sister in law a pointed glare. They at least both have the decency to look sorry. She places Ella down gently on her bed, but small hands don’t release their grip on her shoulders. She bends down to stay close, and a small voice whispers softly. 

“I’m sorry Lena.” It just about breaks her heart how sad this child is as she looks up at her. 

“My sweet.” Lena coos, moving closer to press a kiss to Ella’s temple and press a nose against her head. “It’s alright to get angry sometimes. You didn’t hurt anybody, everybody is okay.” She reassures her, as tiny arms wrap around her neck trying to pull her closer. Lena gets the most hugs out of anybody from the little girl, but this is a new level of affection. 

“Are Kara and Alex gonna be mad?” Ella asks in an even smaller voice. 

“No, they aren’t.” Lena reassures, not breaking their bubble of softness. 

“It’s so hard Lena.” Ella begins to cry again, and all Lena can do for a second to hold her own tears back is press soft kisses along the girl’s head. She hears Kara and Alex whispering to each other in the hallway, listens to Kara’s soft feet walk Alex to the door, stop to give her sister a hug, and then pad gently to the kitchen. She focuses on the sound of Ella’s deep sobbing breaths, and rubs her back until they slow. Eventually, her crying slows, and they stay holding each other for a while, interrupted by a soft knock on the door. 

“Hey.” Kara says quietly. “I thought you guys might want this.” She holds out a cup of green looking water that has the suppressant Ella takes before bed mixed in it.

“No more?” Ella squeaks from behind as Lena sits up to take the cup from Kara, replacing it with her hand as she leads her unsure fiancee to Ella’s bed. 

“No more, kiddo” Kara says solemnly. “Not tonight.” She softens a little as Ella sits up and reaches for her hand, still needing some comforting contact as Lena gives her sips of her suppressant.  
“But more tomorrow?” Ella deflates a little at the thought and Kara sighs a little. 

“Not tomorrow.” She promises, “but eventually, yes.” She finishes. “Not so hard though. A little less at a time. I know it’s hard babygirl, but it’s important.” She moves her other hand to brush some golden hair out of the girl’s face. 

“I know.” Ella sighs dejectedly, taking the last sip of her supplement from Lena and allowing the brunette to move to put the empty cup on the bedside table. “I’m sorry.” She says again, to Kara this time. 

“Don’t apologize El.” Kara smiles. “I always say I know how you’re feeling right now, but sometimes I forget. How hard it really is.” She says, with a kiss to the girl’s forehead. “But you’re not alone.” She adds. “Me and Lena are always here for you babygirl.” She promises. “We love you.” She adds, looking up at Lena who smiles with tears in her eyes, before delivering her own kiss to Ella’s forehead.  
“We do.” She agrees. And not for the first time in the past week Lena tries and fails to suppress the thought that what this trio has got here feels a lot like the family she had wanted so badly growing up. She can’t even deny anymore that with every slow breath Ella takes against her chest, every unconscious curl of little fingers with every stroke of Kara’s hand through soft dirty blonde hair as Ella falls asleep, she falls even more in love with the little girl. 

And if she looks up and meets Kara’s eyes with her own a little blurry with emotion, Kara doesn’t say anything, but takes her hand and helps her off the bed gently so they don’t wake the sleeping Ella, who’s still half in her lap. 

“I love you.” Kara whispers into her ear once she’s led her into the hallway, and Lena laughs at herself a little bit when those words still take her breath away. 

And if her mouth tastes a little like salt when Kara kisses her response from her lips, she doesn’t say anything. 

And not for the first time since Lena Luthor met little Ella, she thinks that this is the happiest she’s ever been in her life.


	3. Mom Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella is the world's smallest bean and Lena and Kara are slightly bigger beans and they are all becoming a real family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please please please please please send me suggestions or prompts if you have them via my inbox at amy-tap.tumblr.com. I'm so emotional about this universe.

The first time Ella ever brings up the word “Mom” she’s with Maggie. 

It’s Maggie’s fault, really. 

Kara and Lena both had to work very early that morning, so the night before when they tucked Ella into her new bed with the bright blue comforter pulled up just the way she liked it and had both hugged and kissed her until she could barely fight off sleep, they had reminded her to be good for Maggie in the morning and not to worry because Maggie would drop her off for first lunch at L-Corp and Kara would take her to second lunch on their way to Catco for the afternoon. Ella had only been living with them for a couple weeks, but she was understandably clingy, as she was a seven year old girl living on a new planet with a completely different social structure and didn’t yet know who she could trust. She was okay with Alex and Maggie for a few hours at a time, but after a few instances of either half of the couple getting called in a panic because Ella wouldn’t stop crying they quickly adjusted childcare plans.   
Anyway, Maggie comes into Ella’s room right after she wakes up in the morning, to ask what she wants for breakfast. She humors the little girl by complimenting her new bed, and testing it out like Ella’s current favorite story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. After a few minutes of pretending to fall asleep and letting Ella wake her up, Maggie gets to the point. 

“Alright, Squirt,” she nudges the girl after using her preferred nickname. “I know you’re hungry. What do you want for breakfast?” Preparing herself for whatever answer the seven year old will give after living two weeks with the junk food fanatic Kara and the softie Lena who was like putty in the green eyed little girl’s hands. Her tiny tiny hands. Ugh her adorable little- 

“Chocolate Banana pancakes with extra extra extra bacon and whipped cream please!” Ella requests, giggling as Maggie looks back at her bright smile, absolutely baffled. 

“Ug, you got me Squirt. Only if you admit that I’m the cool Aunt. Alex doesn’t even know how to make plain pancakes, let alone chocolate banana..” she grumbles, about to go on about the food pyramid and vegetables before she’s interrupted by small arms that grab her shoulders to gain leverage as the little girl wiggles out of her tight covers and whew. Maggie has got to start remembering to start the day with those suppressants, and-

“What’s an Aunt?” Ella asks, biting her bottom lip and looking a lot like Kara when she’s curious. 

“Uh..” Maggie thinks for a second, unfocused as she’s flitting around the room getting an acceptable outfit ready for the day, “It’s a mom’s sister. You know, a mom? A mommy? A mama? It’s a part of a family.” She corrects, trying to stay vague, and blessing herself when the girl accepts this and grabs Maggie’s arm to lead her to the kitchen, reminding Maggie again to give Ella her suppressants before she starts making pancakes. 

Xxx

The mom thing isn’t brought up again until one night when Lena is working late and Ella misses her but is satisfied enough to lay in Kara and Lena’s bed wrapped up with the superhero until Lena gets back, while Kara alternates between reading the seven year old articles about animals she finds online, singing to her, and answering her 30-questions-a-second rants as best she can. She tries to convince the little girl to sleep, halfheartedly, knowing that there’s no chance Ella will even think about closing her eyes until Lena’s home to give her a goodnight kiss and tuck her in with Kara. She’s about to start a fluff piece on a new hippo being born at the National City Zoo when her breath catches with Ella’s most recent question. 

“What’s a mom?” Ella asks, as blasé as she had been about asking what Cinnamon rolls were seconds before. 

“A mom?” Kara chokes on nothing, as Ella looks up at her quizzically. 

“You know, a mom? A mommy? A mama?” She asks again. 

“Where did you hear that?” Kara asks, avoiding the question. 

“Maggie. What is it?” Kara almost laughs at her stubborn little girl. 

“Well, a mom is someone who takes care of a kid. And loves them, and treats them well and makes them feel safe.” Kara says carefully. “A mom and a child, they make a family.” She says. 

“Am I-” Ella starts, but is cut off by the sound of a door opening, and although she’s already taken her suppressants she can hear Lena’s footsteps coming to the bedroom and opening the door and-

“Come on, my sweet.” Lena’s melodic voice cuts through the room softly. “It’s well past time for bed.” She says, giving the little girl a pointed look, which is replaced with a sweet smile the second the girl hold out her arms for Lena to pick her up and bring her to bed. She gives Kara a quick kiss as she leans down to lift Ella up, and giggles along with the seven year old as Kara makes faces on the short walk to her room. 

“Goodnight, little darling. I love you.” Lena recites, dropping a kiss to the girls temple, stepping back as Kara does the same. As always requested, they sit with Ella on her bed until she falls asleep, and then Lena leads her wife back to their bedroom, where Kara rubs the frustration of the long day out of her shoulders, and decides to save the Mom talk for another day. 

The next week, an ill timed leak of a private letter sent from the prison cell of Lillian Luthor to nationalist terrorist organizations around the world sends Lena on a business trip to Opal City. It’s only one night, and Lena cries several times at the thought of leaving Ella behind right now, but it’s not safe for her to travel with Lena, and it’s not going to be safe in National City for long if Lena doesn’t meet with detectives in Opal City to decode her mother’s evil messages. Alex and Maggie join Kara and a quiet Ella for dinner, twelve and a half hours after Lena had left that morning, not that Ella is counting. 

“Ella, babygirl, eat please.” Kara pleads, giving all her attention and more to the sulking child, instead of the pile of potstickers in front of her to Alex and Maggie’s dismay, who picks up her fork and chews slowly. 

“Eat enough and there might be some triple chocolate fudge brownie ice cream in the freezer before bed.” Kara tries to reason with the girl and immediately regrets her tactics. 

“I’m not going to bed until Lena comes home.” Ella says matter o’factly with her arms crossed against her chest. Fork dropped down on her plate. 

“Ella, we talked about this.” Kara says carefully. “Lena’s not coming home until dinnertime tomorrow.” She reminds the girl, closing her eyes when the tears start. “Babygirl,” Kara murmurs, pulling Ella into her arms as the tears start to flow more freely. Alex and Maggie start clearing the dishes to give the pair some privacy. 

“Why can’t she come home?” Ella wails freely into Kara’s neck and Kara swears her heart breaks a little. 

“Lena wishes so badly she could be home with you babygirl.” Kara promises, giving her a squeeze. “But she’s very important, and sometimes she has to make sacrifices to keep you safe.” She explains carefully, as Lena had made it painstakingly clear that she did not want Ella in any way involved in any affairs having to do with her family. She strokes Ella’s hair for a while and carries her to the couch as she calms a little, where Alex and Maggie give her comforting strokes and hair scratches. 

“Would you like to talk to Lena on the phone?” Kara asks, after she thinks Ella has calmed down enough to not alarm Lena. 

“Please.” Ella sniffles, settling into Kara’s lap and watching her dial Lena’s number. 

“Kara? Is everything alright?” Lena asks, panic weaving through her voice.   
“Hey babe, everything’s okay. I just know a little someone who would love to talk to you if you have a minute..” Kara says, worrying for a second because she’s just remembered that her fiancee is in Opal City for a reason and might be busy. 

“I always have time for my girls.” Lena reassures her and Rao, what did Kara do to deserve someone who loves her and cares for her and knows her so well. She hands the phone over to Ella, who settles in her lap. 

“Be gentle.” Kara reminds the girl, thinking of Lena’s old cracked phone from Ella’s first full day on Earth. 

“Hello, my sweet.” Lena coos through the phone, and Kara knows immediately that she’s made a mistake when little green eyes start watering again at the sound of Lena’s voice. 

“Mommy…” Ella whines a little through her growing tears and she sounds so sad but mommy? Kara’s mind is racing a mile a minute and she thinks she might pass out and she feels like forty years has passed in the four seconds it takes for Ella to pass the phone back to Kara. 

“Lena, are you-” 

“Kara, please come pick me up.” Lena asks, and Kara can tell she’s trying so hard to stay composed but she can hear the desperation in her voice. 

“Lee are you sure? I know you need to-”

“Kara, please.” Lena begs, desperate and emotional. “I only need to be home with my baby right now.” 

And if Kara smiles a little, even though her daughter. Her daughter is crying buckets on her lap, nobody mentions it. 

“Okay babe, I’m coming.” Kara promises and hangs up. Looking around at the faces in her living room.   
“Babygirl, bare with me for a second okay. I’m gonna go get Mommy.” She says, taking a second to relish being able to say that out loud. She’s not sure but she might actually float a little bit, and definitely hears sobs coming from Maggie’s end of the couch when Ella gives her one last big hug and says, in her small, tear stained voice. 

“Thank you, Mama.”


	4. Holy Mark Zuckerberg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella's first trip back to the DEO for a little alien checkup since the night she arrived on Earth is STRESSFUL but she has A GREAT SUPPORT SYSTEM and LOVING CARING MOTHERS who I hope ADOPT ME NEXT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone sorry it's been soo long midterms szn has really been kicking my butt. Love u all this is some pure comfort and fluff again because plot is boring and I just want everyone to be HAPPY.

“Where’s Mama?” A little voice asks from under Lena’s desk, and Lena pushes her chair out so the clamoring limbs have more room to crawl out from the tiny space the girl always finds herself in and onto her mother’s lap. 

 

“We’re meeting Mama at the DEO, my sweet.” Lena reminds her daughter, finishing up some final details on a new contract with a raw materials supply company.

 

“Do we have to go today? I’m tired.” Ella sinks back into Lena, forcing her little head into the crook in Lena’s neck. Lena rolls her eyes playfully. 

 

“That’s not going to work today. We have to go see Aunt Alex so she can make sure you’re healthy and so we can get everything ready for you to start school in a couple months.” Lena practically recites, as she and Kara have had this talk with Ella so many times in the past week. She frowns a little when the girl is silent against her neck, and gives her back a comforting pat. It’s amazing to her how  _ motherly _ she’s become in a short few weeks. “It will be okay, my little darling.” She promises, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s head as little arms tighten around her neck. 

 

Lena quickly gathers her things, and gets Ella to release her hold around her neck to help clean up the various books and papers and crayons strewn about Lena’s office that had been serving as a playroom for Ella almost all week while Kara, Alex, and Maggie were all involved in a ridiculous alien terrorist escapade that had finally ended earlier today, much to Lena’s relief. 

 

Once they have everything together, Lena takes her daughter’s hand and they walk out of L-Corp, stopping along the way so Ella can say goodbye to everyone she sees, and into a car waiting outside that takes them to the DEO, Ella curled into Lena’s side and quiet the whole way. The little girl hasn’t been in the DEO since her first fear-filled night on Earth, so Lena understands why she’s frightened. On top of that, she’s been against the idea of going to school as soon as she learned that neither Kara or Lena, nor Alex or Maggie would be there. 

“Hey El-Bell” Kara greeted fondly as Lena led their daughter into the center of the DEO, with a purposeful extra pep in her already sufficiently peppy step to balance out the misery in the seven year olds face. Kara’s face falls just a little when Ella doesn’t respond, but she smiles in this new, tight lipped way that Lena has observed as their daughter holds out her arms and Kara picks her up. It’s a smile that’s a whole new level of gentle, although the love in Kara’s eyes threatens to spill out as they crinkle when she holds their daughter.  _ Their daughter. _

 

Lena walks a step behind Kara, holding onto one of the little hands that Ella stretches out to her behind her fiancee’s back, her soft green eyes meeting Lena’s in an ever present wish to be close to both her mothers. Alex was waiting for them in the medbay, and she greeted her favorite niece with a sympathetic expression. 

 

“Hey kiddo.” Alex smiled fully, earning her a toothy grin from little Ella, who turned around in Kara’s arms to greet her aunt. The girl’s expression grew worrisome again when Kara moved to set her down on the exam table, Lena both rolling her eyes and internally thanking her future in law for the children’s zoo themed sheets on the exam table. Bill Gates, her daughter was spoiled. 

 

“Rao, Aunt Alex is spoiling you.” Kara exclaimed to Ella pointing out her favorite animals on the sheets, trying, in equal parts, to tease her sister and comfort her daughter, while reading Lena’s mind. The three women all shared a concerned look when Ella stared wide eyed back at Kara and started speaking hurriedly in her native language. 

 

“Ella, my sweet,” Lena cooed, rushing over to sit on the other side of her daughter. “Everything is okay. You’re safe, my love. Mama and Aunt Alex and I are all here with you and we love you so much.” She whispers into soft blonde hair. 

 

“Take a moment, babygirl” Kara responds from the other side, letting soft tears fall down the seven year old’s cheeks. Through the past month they’ve learned that when Ella gets scared or overwhelmed she likes to be as close to both of her mothers as possible, and they’ve taught her ways to collect herself enough to take deep breaths and vocalize her problems when she’s ready. They sit with their foreheads resting on either side of the seven year olds warm head, Kara rubbing soothing circles on her back and Lena giving the little girl both of her hands to hold on as tight as she pleases. 

 

“I want to go home.” Ella says in a wavering, but endearingly strong voice. Lena is just about ready to take her daughter back to their apartment and give her cuddles in her and Kara’s bed until she feels safe and loved enough to make up for the past seven years of her life, and she thanks Steve Jobs that  _ Kara _ , big softie “sure-you-can-have-all-my-ice-cream-too-babygirl” Kara stays strong enough for both of them. 

“El-Bell, we talked about this.” The blonde woman speaks softly. “We know you remember being here when you first came to Earth and you were so scared,” she punctuates with a squeeze of her daughter’s shoulder, “but you’re safe here, and me and Mommy and Aunt Alex would never let anything bad happen to you, my brave girl. We just need you for ten minutes to show us how brave you are so Aunt Alex can make sure you’re healthy, and then we’ll go home.” Ella doesn’t look up from the ground as she thinks about this for several moments. 

 

“Ten minutes and then couch cuddles?” Ella asks, her strong voice breaking into inevitable tears. 

 

“Ten minutes and then couch cuddles.” Kara delivers another kiss to the little girl’s head. “I promise.” 

 

It turns out that watching their daughter scream crying for ten minutes reaching for them every time Alex moves and then calling for them when Alex sympathetically suggests they leave the room is  _ not _ Lena and Kara’s ideal Wednesday afternoon. Alex finishes as fast as she can and carries her niece out to her moms, who she literally  _ climbs on _ in an attempt to get any closer than skin to skin contact with both of them. 

 

“So?” Kara asks worriedly, keeping an idle hand on her daughter’s back and the other intertwined with Lena’s as Alex pulls up a chair. 

 

“She’s fine, Kara.” Alex almost admonishes, teasing her sister for being so worried, as if she and Lena hadn’t been near perfect parents to this little girl as they could be in their situation. “She’s still underweight,” Alex acquiesces, “but we expected that. And obviously--the emotional stress is a lot still clearly, but you guys are here for her, and that’s a lot right now.” She reassures the worrisome parents, smiling at how gently they hold Ella who has her face buried where their shoulders meet, but has mostly stopped crying. “You guys are amazing parents. These things can’t be fixed overnight, but you’re doing everything you can to make it better soon enough.” She says, giving first Kara then Lena a sincere smile. “I’ll send you all the records and we’ll figure out the school situation later.” She tells them, knowing Ella needs to get home. “You were very brave bug.” She leans in to whisper to Ella. “I love you.” She bids her farewells with a kiss to the back of Ella’s head and a hug to her sister and future sister before Kara takes off and flies her family home. 

 

xXx

“You’re so tired, my sweet.” Lena acknowledges, after the rest of the afternoon is spent with Luthor-Danvers family couch cuddles and spaghetti that Ella was so proud to have finished an entire bowl of. 

 

“Not tired.” Ella says in a gravelly sing song voice that makes her mothers chuckle, her hair astrew from its small braids and her eyes drooping into Kara’s neck. 

 

“If you’re sure you’re not tired maybe we can talk about what happened at the DEO.” Lena says carefully, biting her lip when her daughter doesn’t answer. 

 

“Honey, you know it’s okay to be upset sometimes, right?” Kara nudges her daughter with her nose, opting not to move either of her hands from where they’re wrapped around the little girl’s torso. 

 

“I know Mama.” Ella replies dutifully. 

 

“Okay babygirl.” Kara smiles, knowing it’s not close to the full conversation, but for now, it’s enough.

 

“Come on, my sweet.” Lena says, shifting from her position next to her fiancee and daughter on the couch. “If we go to bed now I’m sure Mama will read us a story.” She says with a glint in her eye. 

 

“Wanna sleep with you.” Ella whimpers, and Lena groans internally. She knew this would come up, although she had sincerely hoped it wouldn’t. It wasn’t at all that Kara and Lena didn’t like when they’re little girl would curl up in between them, relishing in the warmth and love that glowed from the bedroom of their apartment when the tiny family spent the whole night snuggled into each other. Lena was actually surprised to say that she woke up happiest when she woke up with a tiny hand nearly in her mouth and peeked over to find a tiny foot in her fiancees face. They absolutely loved cosleeping with their daughter, but her clingyness was sometimes worrisome, and so some rules had to be put in place. Ella was only allowed to sleep in Kara and Lena’s bed once a week, and they had both had some incredibly late nights making sure that this rule was enforced. Kara had once stayed up an entire night sitting with Ella in her room, trying every tactic in getting the girl to fall asleep to no avail. That had been a terrible Friday. They had both been up until as late as 5 AM together, sitting with Ella while she cried, laying next to her until she finally succumbed to exhaustion, but Lena knew that tonight would be especially hard, because she desperately wanted to curl up with her daughter some more, and the look in Kara’s eyes told her that she too had already seen her daughter cry enough for one day. But Ella had had a bad nightmare during a nap on Monday, and Kara and Lena had foolishly let her use her one night that week then, clearly forgetting about this appointment. 

 

“Not tonight, little darling.” Lena smiled sympathetically, cursing herself internally as the waterworks began again. 

 

“Little one, you slept with Mommy and I on Monday already, remember?” Kara jumped in, noticing her fiancee’s distress. 

 

“Please Mummy!” Ella begins to sob, and Lena knows her daughter is exhausted, emotionally and physically, and it takes more strength now than it did to stand up to Lillian and Lex any time when she stands up and holds her arms out, allowing her daughter to climb into them. 

 

“Come, my sweet. Mama and I will sit with you until you fall asleep.” Ella whined a little more on their way to her bedroom, and although it was heartbreaking, Kara and Lena were, shamefully, a little grateful to see that their daughter was so tired she was basically half asleep by the time they finished tucking her in. Lena is surprised when Ella has enough strength to pull her into a big hug when she leans down for her goodnight kiss, and whispers sleepily. 

 

“Love you Mommy. And Mama.” She adds, as Kara settles down on the other side of the bed with Pip, the little girl’s treasured stuffed penguin. 

 

And Lena has known that the little girl, falling asleep now, in her bed, in their apartment, has made a special connection with her and her fiancee for a while, obviously. But it’s the first time she’s said it, and it’s been a long and emotional day, so  _ fuck _ , of course she’s crying, and  _ literally  _ **_how_ ** is big softie “Okay-sure-we-can-watch-the-baby-beluga-whale-documentary-again-instead-of-Hercules,-the-absolute-all-time-greatest-ever-disney-mov--and-yes,-babygirl-you’re-right-Frozen- _ is- _ better-than-Hercules-we-can-watch-that-next” Kara Danvers  _ still _ holding it together better than her today. 

 

“We love you too, sweet darling babygirl.” Kara breathes. “So so much.” She adds, looking up at Lena, who at least can see the wetness in her fiancee’s eyes as she bends down for a second goodnight kiss, although Ella is absolutely asleep now. She holds a silent hand out to Kara, not trusting her voice, but letting Kara lift her off their daughter’s bed, pressing their temples together when they make it to the hallway outside the sleeping girl’s room. 

 

“Holy  _ Snape _ .” Lena whispers, dorkily, when she finally finds her voice.

 

Kara chuckles wetly at her nerd fiancee before allowing her to wipe the tears off her cheeks. The couple shares another moment of revered silence, foreheads pressed together, neither bothering to keep their happy tears at bay, sharing a few salty kisses that desperately convey the awe and love they’re feeling. And although Kara Danvers has had a  _ long  _ week, and an  _ exhausting _ afternoon, she laughs because she can’t even stop smiling to kiss her fiancee properly, and the only coherent thought in her mind is how they’ve  _ finally _ found themselves a flowergirl. 

  
  



	5. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena have mixed emotions about leaving Ella with certified cool aunts Alex and Maggie for the evening for their first date night in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit. This chapter has a lot of feels, and a little angst stirred in with the usual unhealthy dose of fluff. I won't lie to you, I cried while writing this and not just because I spent these hours ignoring my essay that's due tomorrow. Longer than other chapters. Enjoi.

“ Hi Mommy” A little voice singsonged and Lena looked up from her desk with a smile as her fiancee led a very energetic seven year old into her office. 

 

“Hello my darling” Lena cood, opening her arms so her daughter could crawl up into her lap and smiling into the kiss that Kara leaned down for before leaning against Lena’s desk, beaming at the sight of her soon-to-be wife and daughter. “How was the zoo?” Lena asked, eternally grateful again that Kara had managed to distract Ella for nearly the entire day so Lena could get some work done in preparation for their evening plans. 

 

“So cool Mommy. We saw the tigers first and then the penguins! They looked just like Pip my stuffed penguin but they smelled kinda funny. Then we saw the seals and there was two babies and they were  _ so  _ cute Mommy! And then we saw the octo- octo what, again Mama?” Ella asked, and Lena couldn’t contain her amusement as the girl took her first breath in a while. 

 

“Octopi.” Kara reminded her daughter with a pure grin, pushing herself off the desk to move closer to Lena, sending a slight shiver down her spine when she leaned up against her ear and whispered, “she called them octopussies all day.” Lena can’t contain her laughter, but immediately regrets it when the little girl on her lap grows sour at being laughed at. 

 

“Hey! It’s not nice to laugh at people Mommy!” Lena does her best to wipe the grin off her face at her daughter’s glare. 

 

“You’re right, my sweet. I’m sorry. Everybody makes mistakes now and again. Mama once told me she flew to my office on a bus.” Lena teases her fiancee, who fakes offense, as the seven year old exaggerates her laugh. 

 

“Alright, come on giggles. Alex and Maggie are ready for your playdate.” Kara says, shaking off her mock offense. Kara and Lena had finally agreed to let Alex and Maggie watch Ella for an entire evening, because as much as they both loved date nights filled with family cuddles and Frozen, they needed some alone time, and it seemed like Ella was finally getting a little more comfortable being apart from them, for little bits of time at least. Lena had made dinner reservations at their regular place, where they’d had their first date and their  _ real  _ engagement party, separate from the formal one Lena threw to appease the reporters and the stockholders in the lobby of L-Corp. This date night is even more special because they plan on finalizing their wedding plans, which have until now been paused while Ella acclimated to her new home.

 

Ella says goodbye to Jess on their way out of the building, as Lena dismisses her for the weekend, but refrains from her usual goodbyes to everyone else they pass in the building, remembering how Lena had been stressed to the point of tears last week when the old men at L-Corp were putting pressure on her to increase revenues by any means possible. Lena held back a smile as Ella glared at the old, dusty Vice President of Sales, but Kara exhibited a proud grin, happy that her girl was so pleased to protect her mother. 

 

“What are me and Auntie Alex and Auntie Maggie gonna do? Is it gonna be fun?” Ella asked, as Lena buckled her into the carseat that she detested. She was incredibly small for a seven year old, so she really needed it, but sometimes her inherent  _ and _ inherited stubbornness made it very hard to get her in the car. 

 

“I’m not sure, my sweet, we’ll figure out when we get there.” Kara laughs as her daughter huffs, checking one last time to make sure they packed everything Alex and Maggie might need for the evening before stepping in the passenger’s seat, smiling at her fiancee who closes her door before walking around the driver’s side and stepping in. It’s a fairly short ride to Alex and Maggie’s apartment, and Ella is more than happy to fill the time with telling Lena more about their trip to the zoo, and Lena is more than happy to listen, incredibly proud of how smart their little girl is, and thinking sinfully about how tired she’ll be tonight, exponentially increasing the probability of after-date-night activities. 

 

Ella is happy to be freed from her carseat, and even happier to greet Alex and Maggie’s doorman, but at least pretends to be sorry when Lena scolds her gently for running too far ahead. Alex and Maggie live on the 12th floor, and Ella wants Kara to fly them up “to make an entrance”, but Kara quickly shuts that down and leads Ella in the direction of the elevator, despite thinking she might do Alex a favor by letting the girl run off some energy on the stairs. The outfit Lena is wearing for date night is casual, and as much as Kara’s heart does that weird skippy thing everytime she sees Lena in jeans, her mind is going crazy right now at the neckline of Lena’s tight red shirt, and she’s more than a little impatient to get her alone. In fact, she’s thinking that maybe she’s not even that hungry and they could probably just go back to their apartment and--

 

“Hey squirt!” Maggie calls excitedly, answering the door and accepting a generous hug from her niece. Kara looks up from her fiancee’s chest to see an amused look in green eyes, and her cheeks flush slightly as she turns to Maggie and Alex at the door. 

 

“Kara are you okay? You look a little...feverish.” Maggie teases, making Kara blush a little deeper.

 

“Yes, Maggie. Hi Alex.” She greets her sister with a hug, passing off the turtle backpack containing the girl’s supplies, and smiling down at her daughter who had already been transferred to her other aunt’s arms. “You feeling okay, babygirl?” She asks, tickling Ella a little, smiling extra wide to compensate for the sudden uneasiness in her daughter’s face. Laughing a little when Ella reaches out, she takes her daughter in her arms and holds her close, rocking a little bit and sharing a knowing look with Lena. 

 

“How many hours, Mama?” Ella asks in a small voice. They talked about it as a family, and Ella knew it would be hard, but she wanted her moms to be happy. She was ready to let them go for a bit, but needed some extra snuggles first. 

 

“Just a few, my little darling.” Lena promises softly, moving behind Kara to run a hand through the little girl’s hair. “We’ll be back before bedtime, okay?” She promises, smiling and giving her daughter a kiss as she nods, before taking her from Kara’s arms, giving her a big hug of her own, and setting her down next to Alex and Maggie. “We love you.” She reminds the little girl, smiling. 

 

“Love you Mommy.” She says, squeezing in one last hug. “Love you Mama.” She moves to Kara, drawing out this hug. 

 

“Come on, kiddo.” Alex distracts her so Kara can pull away. “Auntie Maggie rented Tangled and your cooler Auntie brought the chicken nuggets.” Alex explains, and Kara and Lena watch timidly as Ella quietly lets herself be led away, little tears at bay in her eyes. 

 

“Let’s go.” Lena whispers, “it’s not going to get easier.” She admits, and Kara nods, letting herself be led back down the hallway to the elevator. 

 

xXx

 

The couple decides to take the short walk to the restaurant instead of driving, both needing a little fresh air to clear their minds after leaving their daughter for the first time. Kara searches out for Lena’s hand and Lena gladly accepts it, shooting Kara a smile as she leads them through the park. It’s a bit of a longer walk, but very pretty, and she knows Kara loves walking through, especially in the fall. They’re silent for a while, both hoping Ella’s doing alright.

 

“Do you want me to listen?” Kara asks. “Just for a minute?” Lena shakes her head. 

 

“This is a good exercise for us as much as it is for Ella, love.” She takes Kara’s hands, leading them to an unoccupied bench, sensing her fiancee could use a break and some cuddling, especially since the park is nearly empty at just before 5:00 on a Tuesday.

 

“I know.” Kara pouts a little. “It’s just so hard, Lee.” Lena feels a couple tears in her own eyes as she watches her fiancee break down a little. 

 

“I know, Kara.” Lena sighs, pressing their foreheads together. “Sometimes I just want to hold her forever and make sure she knows she’s loved for the rest of her life.” She admits, chuckling at how ridiculous that sounds. “But we’re doing right by her, you know that right?” Lena questions, keeping the distance between them close but parting their foreheads to try and look in her fiancee’s downcast eyes. “She knows we love her, and she knows we can’t always be right next to her.” She continues, settling on pressing her nose into the side of Kara’s tear stricken face, comforting her fiancee silently as she nods in agreement with Lena’s words but continues to cry. 

 

It’s a little silly, Lena thinks, but so fitting, them sitting in the park, Kara letting out months of emotion. Although Lena Luthor puts on an effortlessly badass CEO front to the public, anybody who knows her privately knows that she’s a type A emotional lesbian. Things between them have always seemed to work out this way. Lena cries to Kara everyday for months, and Kara seems to hold it all together. Then, eventually, the flood gates come crashing down, and when they do, Lena is always there for her fiancee, the same way Kara has always been there for her. When Kara separates one hand to wipe some tears off her face, Lena moves hers to the back of Kara’s neck, playing with the baby hairs that just happen to find their way out of her ponytail, although she knows Kara will complain later about how it took her forever to get her hair up in the first place.

 

“I can hear her.” Kara says, once she’s composed herself a little. “When I get called out as Supergirl right before bedtime. I can hear her crying for me. Everytime. And I try to block it out--I really do--but some things...some things I can’t ignore.” Lena nods her head in agreement. It breaks her heart too, listening to her daughter scream for her Mama to kiss her goodnight while Kara’s off fighting some rogue alien in the middle of the city. She’ll never go to bed until both of her mothers have kissed her and hugged her and told her they love her and her stuffed penguin Pip and scared away the bad dreams. Sometimes it’s Lena, coming home late from work, rushing in to an overtired and emotional seven year old crying to Kara in her bed, but it’s more often Kara, trying to keep her family safe in a way that only Supergirl can. Lena has known Kara could hear them for a while now, after the awful night where Kara was out until nearly 2 AM, in a grisly fight that left her on the verge of solar flare. Ella had cried so hard she’d made herself sick, which had only made her cry harder. After the fight, Kara flew straight home, ignoring Alex in her ear, ordering her back to the DEO for medical tests and sunbed hours. Lena had never seen Supergirl more dejected than when she took their daughter into her arms and knocked their foreheads together, whispering in Kryptonian. When the tear stained girl finally fell asleep, Lena led her fiancee onto the balcony, keeping the door open in case Ella woke up. Kara couldn’t find the words to explain that night, but she was thankful and accepting of the kisses that Lena gave her while she was trying to convey the love she felt, leading Kara into the shower and then into their bed. They had never gotten a real chance to talk about it, sadness forgotten when they woke up to a somehow still smiling little seven year old begging for banana chocolate chip pancakes, and everything seemed alright again for a little while. Remembering this, Lena again separates her face from Kara’s, pulling her fiancee in to rest her head on Lena’s shoulder, and pressing a few kisses into her hair.

 

“I really do love her so much.” Kara admits. “And you. Both of you have given me something I thought I would never have again. Something that I can honestly say I would do it all again for.” She continues, accepting her tears freely now. “I have never felt love like this, ever, in my life.” She promises. “Even on Krypton.” It feels wrong, a little, to say, so she whispers. “I love our family. I love you, and I love Ella both so much it hurts sometimes.” Lena rests her chin on the top of Kara’s head, letting a couple of her own tears flow down too. 

 

“I know, love. We know. And we love you so much right back.” Lena promises, starting another round of kisses to Kara’s head, trailing them along her face as Kara lifts her head up to meet her teary eyes with Lena’s.

 

“I would give up anything for this.” Kara whispers. “I would give up Supergirl.” She adds even quieter. “I’m sorry.” She adds quickly, registering Lena’s lack of response and the hand stilling at the back of her neck. “I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking it for so long and I didn’t want to say it because I know we talked about it but I can’t stop thinking and-” 

 

Kara is silenced by Lena’s quick peck on her lips, a silent plea for Kara to stop as she thinks for a moment. She’s not shocked by this outburst. She and Kara have talked about it before. She feels bad that Kara has been keeping it in for so long, likely because this was the subject of one of their biggest fights. It was after a vengeful alien had broken into their apartment, aiming to make Kara share in his pain by taking Lena away. Kara had fought him off with a significant struggle, her emotions clouding her ability, and managed to save the day only by solar flaring from overuse of her heat vision. In the DEO medbay, Lena pressed close to Kara on the sunbed, Kara had indignantly told Lena she planned on retiring as Supergirl, because she loved Lena too much to endanger her life for this. Emotions were high, feelings were misinterpreted, and Lena left the DEO in anger and confusion, Kara lying in a similar state. Hours later, when an exhausted and upset Kara came home to a Lena that had thought about everything over too much wine, they cried into each others shoulders until they had no tears left, and Lena made Kara promise that she would never give up any piece of her, and in return promised Kara that she loved her as Kara Zor El, as Kara Danvers and as Supergirl, and she also promised to upgrade the security system in their apartment. It was all very soft and gay and they fell asleep on the couch. That was months before they had Ella, before they were engaged even, and Lena smiled softly now at how everything had changed so much in the past few months.

 

“It’s okay, Kara.” Lena smiles at her fiancee. “I know it’s hard.” She presses a wet kiss to Kara’s ear. “I love you, and treasure you more than I ever knew anybody could love and treasure a person.” She admits. “And I know what you’re feeling. I hate that you keep all this weight on your shoulders.” Lena kisses each shoulder for effect. “I want you to share these things with me, I won’t get upset, my love.” Kara nods, closing her eyes and leaning back as Lena kisses away a few new tears. “I think it would be a mistake though. I know being Supergirl is important to you. And I know Ella cries, but I don’t know a single person who loves Supergirl more than her. And I’m about to be  _ married _ to Supergirl.” She says, earning a smile from her fiancee. 

 

“I know.” Kara says, sniffling. “I don’t think I would give up Supergirl, but sometimes…” she trails off, not knowing where she wants her sentence to go. “I just love you a lot.” She tells Lena, who smiles. “And I love Ella, and I love being a mom, and I love watching you be a mom.” She rambles. “I really am so happy, Lee.” Kara finishes, her tears drying, and a brilliant sunshine Kara Danvers level smile on her face. 

 

“Me too, babe.” Lena smiles, crying happy tears now. “To all of the above.” She presses a kiss on Kara’s lips, lingering a little, and presses their foreheads together once again, enjoying the closeness of her fiancee. They sit like that for a little while, Lena thankful again that the park is so empty on a Tuesday dusk, until she hears Kara’s stomach grumble. “Come on, darling.” She laughs at Kara’s reddened cheeks. “We can still make our reservations.” She reminds Kara, who is perfectly content to slip her hand into Lena’s and walk beside her to the restaurant, feeling even closer to her fiancee, and buzzing with impatience to finalize the details of their wedding. 


	6. Dinner Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Danvers-Luthors tackle everything problematic about Thanksgiving in a SINGLE BLOW. w/fluff of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone sorry I'm human garbage and haven't updated in SO long! I've had a busy couple of weeks and also I know its technically not Thanksgiving anymore but be nice to me please. I ate so much and I'm so tired so I uh sure did not even edit this ;). Enjoy.

“Mommy, is this right?” A flour covered Ella asks from the stool she’s standing on, stirring a bowl of pumpkin bread batter. Lena can’t hide her smile as the little girl tries to lick a stray dot of batter off her nose. 

 

“Looks good to me, little darling.” Lena reaches for a napkin to wipe off her daughter’s face, smiling more when little eyes crinkle at the contact. “Stir just a little more, til the lumps come out. We’ll get it in the oven before Mama comes home and eats it all raw.” She jokes, putting her hands over little hands and helping Ella stir. 

 

A few years ago, Thanksgiving meant nothing to Lena. It was just another family themed holiday that served as a reminder of all the things she had spent her entire life missing out on, and until she met Kara, it seemed like she would spend the rest of her life missing out on warmth and contentment. The year she met Kara, she’d been whisked away to the Danvers Thanksgiving Extravaganza, as Kara’s friend. She hadn’t quite felt comfortable around Alex and Eliza and James and Winn yet, but it was a warm gesture and she enjoyed not spending the holiday alone, especially since Kara was present. A month later, to everyone’s relief, the pair had finally gotten together, and the following Thanksgiving saw Lena Luthor with a completely renewed love of life, and for the first time in her life, a caring family. Now, here she is, preparing her family’s contribution to Thanksgiving with her seven year old daughter, waiting for her fiancee to come home and checking the fire extinguisher for whatever disaster she was sure Kara was about to concoct in the kitchen. 

 

“Mmm smells good” Kara’s voice interrupted Lena’s reflections as she came through the door, setting grocery bags down on the counter and pressing a short kiss into their daughter’s hair before moving towards the pumpkin scented bowl, only to be pulled back by deceptively strong little arms. 

 

“No tasting until dinner.” Ella reprimands her blonde mother in a serious tone. Laughing a little when Kara looks at Lena with her signature pout. 

 

“You heard her.” Lena rolls her eyes playfully, smiling as her fiancee finally moves away from the mix to kiss her cheek then her lips. “Happy Dinner Day.” She says softly, wrapping her arms around Kara’s neck as strong arms wrap around her waist. She chuckles as Kara leans in, pressing her cold nose into Lena’s neck, undoubtedly because she smells like a bakery. 

 

“Happy Dinner Day.” Kara replies, with a contented sigh. 

 

The subject of Thanksgiving became a little more complicated when a young child became involved. Kara and Lena were obviously aware of the colonial and cultural implications of the Thanksgiving holiday, and while before it was just an easy universal word for the holiday, when tasked with the shaping of a young mind who constantly questioned everything, they were unsure of how to celebrate. Especially for little Ella, who had been so scorned on her home planet by oppressionist leaders and all. After a long discussion, they settled on “Dinner Day” which combined what Kara and Lena both felt were the important aspects of the holiday. Dinner, obviously, was a big priority item for Kara. They also explained to Ella that on Dinner Day, people were supposed to think about all the things they were grateful for. They had also decided to use Dinner Day as another educational opportunity, to teach their curious daughter about Native American history, and maybe at a less tumultuous time in her life, to teach her about the implications of colonialism and their effects. 

 

“Ew! This is a PDA free zone!” Ella squeals from the counter, using one of the very helpful phrases Winn and Alex taught her. 

 

“Today I’m grateful to love and be loved by Mommy, and that means I get to kiss her whenever she wants.” Kara teases, kissing Lena once more for effect before sauntering over to her daughter and dipping a finger in the pumpkin bread batter, licking it before pressing an exaggeratedly wet kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “I’m grateful to love you too.” She adds, laughing as Ella gapes at her bowl of batter. 

 

xXx

The trio rolls up to the Danvers family home in Midvale half an hour late with a delicious looking loaf of pumpkin bread and some of Lena’s perfect chocolate chip cookies and a big platter of unknown charred contents, which Kara swears is how her cauliflower and carrot mix is supposed to look like. They’ve already educated everyone else on the philosophies of Dinner Day, and if there are tears in Lena’s eyes when Alex presents a picture book on early Native American life, nobody says anything (except Winn, who complains that she’s dripping tears onto the cookies, then asks if that’s the secret ingredient. Kara hits him). Lena pulls herself together and ventures to the kitchen, Ella in tow, to put down her food, smiling when she sees the awe in Ella’s eyes at how much has piled up on the counters and the table. Eliza’s turkey smells  _ fantastic _ , and J’onn has truly outdone himself with the mashed potatoes this year, she thinks. Winn, as always, brought the cranberry sauce, which he still swears is homemade, and James, the closeted health nut he is, brought green beans  _ and  _ brussel sprouts. Alex brought three different pies, no doubt in another effort to please Eliza, who will say they’re all  _ perfect _ . Lena smiles further when she sees that Eliza has made more cauliflower, for when Kara can finally admit that one year later she still can’t cook. Once she’s gotten everything situated, she pours herself and Kara  glasses of wine and she gives Ella a wine glass of apple juice. Ella is so happy to have a family, and she loves her Aunt Alex and her Grandma Eliza and her Grandpa J’onn and her Uncles James and Winn, but she’s still definitely in her clingy phase, and she’ll stay close to Kara and Lena practically all night. She puts an arm on the little girl’s shoulder and leads her to the living room, trading Kara a glass of wine for a kiss, sitting down, and helping Ella carefully onto her lap without spilling either of their drinks. Everybody listens intently as Eliza begins reading from the picture book, stopping every so often for Ella to ask questions. When the book is over, the overwhelming smells of dinner have even Ella too hungry for questions, so the group makes their way into the dining room. Eliza and J’onn sit on either end of the table, Alex, James, and Winn, put their drinks down before setting out all the food on the table, and Ella sits between her two moms on the other side. 

 

“Mmm smells so good Grandma.” Ella compliments, staring at the turkey with her mouth watering. 

 

“I know, my dear, I’m excited to try your pumpkin bread.” Eliza winks, already having communicated to Ella over the phone that pumpkin bread is her  _ favorite _ and maybe if Lena asks her what else they should bring to Dinner Day she should suggest that. “But we can’t eat yet!” She exclaims, rolling her eyes as her two daughters sigh audibly. 

 

“We have to say what we’re grateful for!” Ella exclaims, admonishing her mother and her Aunt. 

 

“You’re right, babygirl. Me and Aunt Alex totally forgot.” Kara apologizes, pressing a kiss into her daughter’s hair. 

 

“You go first Grandma.” Ella decides, leaning into Kara a little bit.

 

“Well I’m grateful for a lot of things this year, but most of all I’m grateful that I have two happy daughters who have brought such wonderful people into my life. And I’m grateful to  _ finally _ be a Grandma.” Eliza jabs playfully, glancing in Kara and Alex’s directions. She nods at Winn, prompting him to go next. 

 

“Well I’m grateful for my friends for making sure that I always have a happy Dinner Day.” Winn says, sharing a meaningful look with Kara, and Lena smiles in understanding. 

 

“I’m grateful for my friends too. And the hospitality, and the incredible food.” James says, nudging Alex when he’s done. 

 

“I’m grateful for my family and friends and all that, but I’m especially grateful for mashed potatoes.” She winks at Ella, who laughs a little into Kara’s arm. 

 

“Like Winn, I too am grateful for friends who make me feel welcome and remind me that there is always so much to be grateful for.” J’onn says eloquently and meaningfully, and Kara could almost curse at having to follow that up. 

 

“I have so much to be grateful for this year.” She starts, happy with herself for preventing the tears from welling in her eyes. “As always, I’m grateful for my friends, and my adopted family.” She says, sharing a meaningful glance with Eliza and then Alex. “And I’m grateful for the love in my life, grateful for the first time to know that I’ll be marrying the most amazing, thoughtful woman in the world,” she says, squeezing Lena’s hand over her daughter’s head, “and I’m also beyond grateful for my Ella, who stretches my heart everyday.” She finishes, before her voice can waver too much with emotion, before pressing a kiss into her daughter’s head. She reddens a little as all her friends and family “aw”, before getting ready for Ella’s declaration of gratitude. 

 

“I am grateful for my family and all my grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles.” Ella begins nervously, everyone in the room smiles at her sentiment. “And I’m grateful for my Mommy and my Mama because they love me and they’re nice to me and they take really good care of me.” Ella has to finish quickly, because she’s crying a little bit and she burrows her head into Kara’s arm as a chorus of aws echoes from around the table. Lena leans in further, shifting into her daughter’s seat a little bit to get close to her fiancee and daughter so she can press a kiss into both cheeks. 

 

“You did so good, my sweet. I love you” She smiles at Ella, who sniffles a little bit, but seems to be better. She shifts into Lena’s arm, offering her a side hug. 

 

“I love you too Mommy.” She murmurs. “Your turn.” She says, shifting the attention from herself and smiling a little when everybody laughs. 

 

“Well,” Lena starts, shifting back into her own seat and pulling Ella in close to her. “I’m grateful for my Kara, who has introduced me to all of you, and in that made my life infinitely better.” She smiles. “And I’m also grateful for Kara because she has transformed my life, and has brought so much love into it.” Lena continues, keeping it concise because she knows that she’ll have time to tell Kara more privately and intimately how grateful she is for everything the blonde means to her later. “And I’m thankful for my child, who, like my fiancee has brought love into every second of my life, and has made me a better person everyday.” She finishes, with a few tears in her eyes, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s temple. “I’m also thankful for all the food, so let’s eat!” She adds, laughing as everyone around her hoorahs to that and begins passing plates around. She smiles to herself as Kara serves Ella before she serves herself, and begins cutting their daughter’s turkey so Kara can dig in, because she hasn’t eaten since morning. 

 

“Ella this pumpkin bread is  _ delicious _ .” Eliza compliments, sounding like the stock photo of a proud grandma. Ella blushes a little as everyone at the table agrees. 

 

“Thank you, Grandma.” Ella says politely. “Mommy showed me how, and Mama is banned from pumpkin bread because she stole from the bowl!” She announces accusingly, and everyone at the table laughs. 

 

“Babygirl if that’s the way it worked I would be banned from every dish at this table.” Kara teases, although she’s not wrong, and if Ella looks  _ exactly _ like Lena as she rolls her eyes playfully at her mother, nobody says anything, but Lena does take note. As she takes her annual solitary moment to soak in the warm feeling settling in her stomach, not just from the steaming vegetables she’s already consumed. She has a family, she is loved, and she has a daughter who will feel this loved and this warm for the rest of her life, and who will know it for every Dinner Day to come. 

 

And, really, how woke is that?


End file.
